Clement-Jones family - Person Sheet
Clement-Jones family - Person Sheet
NameHenry Of LANCASTER 3rd Earl of Lancaster 
, 16063
, 16063Birth1281
Death1345
Notes for Henry Of LANCASTER 3rd Earl of Lancaster
Henry, 3rd Earl of Leicester and Lancaster (c. 1281 – 22 September 1345) was a grandson of King Henry III (1216–1272) of England and was one of the principals behind the deposition of King Edward II (1307–1327), his first cousin.
Origins
He was the younger son of Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, Earl of Leicester,[1] a son of King Henry III by his wife Eleanor of Provence. Henry's mother was Blanche of Artois, Queen Dowager of Navarre.
Henry's elder brother Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, succeeded their father in 1296, but Henry was summoned to Parliament on 6 February 1298/99 by writ directed to Henrico de Lancastre nepoti Regis ("Henry of Lancaster, nephew of the king", Edward I), by which he is held to have become Baron Lancaster. He took part in the Siege of Caerlaverock in July 1300.
Petition for succession and inheritance
After a period of longstanding opposition to King Edward II and his advisors, including joining two open rebellions, Henry's brother Thomas was convicted of treason, executed and had his lands and titles forfeited in 1322. Henry did not participate in his brother's rebellions; he later petitioned for his brother's lands and titles, and on 29 March 1324 he was invested as Earl of Leicester. A few years later, shortly after his accession in 1327, the young Edward III of England returned the earldom of Lancaster to him, along with other lordships such as that of Bowland.
Capture and custody of the King
On the Queen's return to England in September 1326 with Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Henry joined her party against King Edward II, which led to a general desertion of the king's cause and overturned the power of Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester, and his namesake son Hugh the younger Despenser.
He was sent in pursuit and captured the king at Neath in South Wales.[2] He was appointed to take charge of the king and was responsible for his custody at Kenilworth Castle.[2]
Full restoration and reward
Henry was appointed head of the regency council for the new king Edward III of England,[3] and was also appointed captain-general of all the king's forces in the Scottish Marches.[4] He was appointed Constable of Lancaster Castle and High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1327. He also helped the young king to put an end to Mortimer's regency and tyranny, also had him declared a traitor and executed in 1330.[5]
Loss of sight
In about the year 1330, he became blind (Prestwich states Henry was going blind around 1329).[6]
Later life and death
Henry spent the last fifteen years of his life at Leicester Castle. There he founded a hospital for the poor and infirm in an extension of the castle bailey. It became known as the Newarke, and Henry was buried in the hospital chapel when he died in 1345. The king and queen attended his funeral. His son Henry of Grosmont, first Duke of Lancaster, had his father's remains moved to the collegiate Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of the Newarke, which he had built when he enhanced his father's foundation.[7][8]
Trinity Hospital chapel in the Newarke, Leicester
Nickname
According to Jean Le Bel, he was nicknamed Wryneck, or Tors-col in French, possibly due to a medical condition.[9] Froissart repeated that statement in his Chronicles.
Origins
He was the younger son of Edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, Earl of Leicester,[1] a son of King Henry III by his wife Eleanor of Provence. Henry's mother was Blanche of Artois, Queen Dowager of Navarre.
Henry's elder brother Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, succeeded their father in 1296, but Henry was summoned to Parliament on 6 February 1298/99 by writ directed to Henrico de Lancastre nepoti Regis ("Henry of Lancaster, nephew of the king", Edward I), by which he is held to have become Baron Lancaster. He took part in the Siege of Caerlaverock in July 1300.
Petition for succession and inheritance
After a period of longstanding opposition to King Edward II and his advisors, including joining two open rebellions, Henry's brother Thomas was convicted of treason, executed and had his lands and titles forfeited in 1322. Henry did not participate in his brother's rebellions; he later petitioned for his brother's lands and titles, and on 29 March 1324 he was invested as Earl of Leicester. A few years later, shortly after his accession in 1327, the young Edward III of England returned the earldom of Lancaster to him, along with other lordships such as that of Bowland.
Capture and custody of the King
On the Queen's return to England in September 1326 with Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, Henry joined her party against King Edward II, which led to a general desertion of the king's cause and overturned the power of Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester, and his namesake son Hugh the younger Despenser.
He was sent in pursuit and captured the king at Neath in South Wales.[2] He was appointed to take charge of the king and was responsible for his custody at Kenilworth Castle.[2]
Full restoration and reward
Henry was appointed head of the regency council for the new king Edward III of England,[3] and was also appointed captain-general of all the king's forces in the Scottish Marches.[4] He was appointed Constable of Lancaster Castle and High Sheriff of Lancashire in 1327. He also helped the young king to put an end to Mortimer's regency and tyranny, also had him declared a traitor and executed in 1330.[5]
Loss of sight
In about the year 1330, he became blind (Prestwich states Henry was going blind around 1329).[6]
Later life and death
Henry spent the last fifteen years of his life at Leicester Castle. There he founded a hospital for the poor and infirm in an extension of the castle bailey. It became known as the Newarke, and Henry was buried in the hospital chapel when he died in 1345. The king and queen attended his funeral. His son Henry of Grosmont, first Duke of Lancaster, had his father's remains moved to the collegiate Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of the Newarke, which he had built when he enhanced his father's foundation.[7][8]
Trinity Hospital chapel in the Newarke, Leicester
Nickname
According to Jean Le Bel, he was nicknamed Wryneck, or Tors-col in French, possibly due to a medical condition.[9] Froissart repeated that statement in his Chronicles.